The treason of which Igor Dodon is accused is an extremely serious offense that should not be treated in a simplistic way, said former ECHR judge Stanislav Pavlovschi. He expressed his confidence that the prosecutors have pertinent evidence that can prove Igor Dodon’s blame or the arrest of the ex-President of Moldova will be described as political settling of an old score. For his part, lawyer Gheroghe Malic said Dodon’s arrest is a very late action as the offenses of which this is accused were committed several years ago, IPN reports.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, ex-President Igor Dodon is suspected of unjust enrichment, passive corruption, illegal financing of the party and treason that he allegedly committed since 2014. Stanislav Pavlovschi noted he hopes that Igor Dodon’s arrest is not politically influenced and is not an attempt by the government to eliminate the opponents.
“I want to believe that this case will be an exception of the large number of previous cases that were political in character and by which different political forces did nothing but settled an old score. I hope we will see conclusive and truthful evidence, as the Penal Procedure Code provides. Treason is a very specific accusation that cannot be treated in a simplistic way. The law provides that treason can take place in the form of espionage, disclosure of state secrets. The prosecutors probably have proofs of espionage by Igor Dodon. I hope there are reasons. I refuse to believe that the times of Plahotniuc returned,” ex-judge Stanislav Pavlovschi stated in the talk show “The Fourth Estate” on N4 TV channel.
On Tuesday, anticorruption prosecutors and officers of the National Anticorruption Center and the Security and Intelligence Service searched ten buildings and three cars that belong to ex-President Igor Dodon and persons close to him. Large sums of money, in Moldovan lei and in foreign currency, were found during these. Lawyer Gheorghe Malic considers prosecutors’ actions are late and are designed to give the impression of a fight against corruption.
“If we refer to treason, unjust enrichment, these weren’t committed yesterday, as wasn’t the kulyok case. “Bahamas” and party financing were also committed earlier. Who profits from this arrest? An arrest is made when the person is caught red-handed or immediately afterward. The longer is the time that passes, the scarcer is the evidence,” stated Gheorghe Malic.
Igor Dodon on Tuesday published a message through the agency of his lawyers, saying that he became the target of politically directed selective justice. He noted that the actions are aimed at discrediting him and at distracting public opinion from the soaring prices.
